Photos: X-37B Space Plane - The Orbital Test Vehicle

It's All in the Brochure

This exciting graphic from the official promotion materials depicts the Atlas V booster at left, and the Orbital Test Vehicle (X-37B) at right. Click to enlarge.

Did I Pass the Acid Test?

Credit: U.S. Air Force

The X-37B/OTV spacecraft undergoes final testing at Boeing for a 2010 test flight. Click to enlarge.

We Have a Technical (Adjustment)

Credit: Boeing/R. Davis

This 2003 photo shows a Boeing technician making adjustments to composite panels on the then NASA X-37 Approach and Landing Test Vehicle. Atmospheric flight testing aided in the design of the orbital version of the U.S. Air Force X-37B space plane.

X-37B in Space

Credit: USAF

The U.S. Air Force's X-37B (shown here in an illustration) is an unpiloted military space plane capable of long-duration flights in Earth orbit. The robotic spacecraft has a solar array for power and a payload bay the size of a pickup truck bed.

Do I Have to Draw a Diagram?

Credit: United Launch Alliance

This exploded view details the components of the Atlas V 501 vehcle. The configuration consists of a single Atlas V booster stage and the Centaur upper stage, with the OTV mission encapsulated within the payload fairing.

A Very Good Place to Start

Credit: United Launch Alliance

This image gives an overview of the launch site overview at Cape Canaveral.

A Look Inside

Credit: Karl Tate, SPACE.com

This SPACE.com graphic takes a look inside the X-37B space plane and its Atlas 5 rocket.

On the Runway

Credit: USAF

The X-37B space plane prototype is seen on a runway during flight tests in this undated photo released by the U.S. Air Force.

Drop It Like It's Hot

Credit: Alan Radecki

The first air drop of the X-37 experimental spaceship from the White Knight carrier craft was called off on April 6, 2006 due to high-altitude winds over Edwards Air Force Base in California. An April 7 attempt ended with the robotic space plane rolling o

X-37B Robot Space Plane: On the Launch Pad

Credit: Pat Corkery/United Launch Alliance.

A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket with the Air Force's X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV) - inside the bulbous nose cone - the rolls out to its Space Launch Complex-41 launch pad at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on April 21, 2010.

All Stacked Up

Credit: USAF

The U.S. Air Force’s X-37B space plane prototype, called the Orbital Test Vehicle 1, is primed for its debut launch into space in April 2010.

Secretive X-37B Space Plane Takes Flight

Credit: Pat Corkery/United Launch Alliance.

A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket with the Air Force’s Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV) launches from its Space Launch Complex-41 launch pad at 7:52 p.m. EDT on April 22, 2010.

Air Force's X-37B Space Plane: An Orbital Spy

Credit: USAF

A belly view of the U.S. Air Force's X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle as it sits inside its payload fairing during encapsulation at the Astrotech facility in Titusville, Fla., before its planned April 2010 launch.

X-37B: Let's Work

Credit: NASA/MSFC

This NASA Marshall Space Flight Center image shows on-orbit functions for the reusable X-37B space plane, now under the wing of the U.S. Air Force.

Secret X-37B Space Plane Spotted

Master satellite spotter, Greg Roberts of Cape Town, South Africa, is one of several amateur astronomers and skywatchers who tracked the first X-37B space plane from Earth in 2010.

X-37B Space Plane? There's an App for That

Credit: Spaceweather.com

A screen shot from the Simple Satellite Tracker app for iPhones and Android phones that allows skywatchers to track the secretive U.S. Air Force space plane and the International Space Station.

It's An Orange-y Sky

Credit: NASA/MSFC

Early artist concept of the X-37 advanced technology flight demonstrator re-entering Earth’s atmosphere. The X-37 was billed by NASA as a testbed for dozens of advanced structural, propulsion and operational technologies that could dramatically lower the

Job Well Done

Credit: USAF/Vandenberg Air Force Base

With the first X-37B spacecraft back on Earth, the Air Force is now looking ahead to the next launch. The Air Force has ordered the construction of a second X-37B — the Orbital Test Vehicle 2 — for a mission to launch in the spring of 2011.

Welcome Home

Credit: USAF/Vandenberg Air Force Base

This X-37B space plane's payload bay is seen clearly in this side view, as is the scale of the spacecraft compared to a human. The X-37B began its life in 1999 as a NASA project, then transferred to the Pentagon's DARPA office in 2004. The Air Force took over in 2006. This mission launched on April 22, 2010. The flight's purpose and cost are classified.

Payload Bay Doors

Credit: USAF/Vandenberg Air Force Base

Here, the X-37B space plane is seen in profile as post-landing work continues. The logos of Boeing and the Air Force are visible on the reusable spacecraft's hull. They appear between lines that outline the X-37B's payload bay, which is about the size of a pickup truck bed and can hold experiments, small satellites and a solar array panel that it used to generate power.

X-37B Walkaround

Credit: USAF/Vandenberg Air Force Base

This photo released by the Air Force shows the nose of the mysterious X-37B space plane as recovery crews take measurements and other readings after its Dec. 3 landing at Vandenberg. The X-37B's unique V-shaped "ruddervators" — which serve as its tail stabilizers — are visible as well as a deployed air brake.

Up Close and Personal

Credit: USAF/Vandenberg Air Force Base

A crew of vehicle handlers clad in suits to protect against hazardous materials (like any remaining rocket fuel) approach the X-37B robot space plane after its successful Dec. 3 landing at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

X-37B in Profile

Credit: USAF/Vandenberg Air Force Base

An Air Force photographer snapped this profile view of the X-37B shortly after its landing on Dec. 3, 2010, which marked the end of the secret vehicle's maiden space mission.

Home Again

Credit: USAF/Vandenberg Air Force Base

Despite its robotic nature, the X-37B space plane received a warm welcome from Air Force crews at Vandenberg. Here, the vehicle appears to be undergoing safing procedures after landing on Dec. 3 at 1:16 a.m. PST (0916 GMT). Significant weathering, or discoloration, can be seen on the spacecraft's upper thermal blanket insulation.

Rocket Nose Cone Covers X-37B Robot Space Plane

Credit: USAF

The U.S. Air Force's X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle is shown inside its payload fairing during encapsulation at the Astrotech facility in Titusville, Fla., ahead of a planned April 2010 launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

Author Bio

Tariq Malik, Space.com Managing Editor

Tariq joined Purch's Space.com team in 2001 as a staff writer, and later editor, covering human spaceflight, exploration and space science. He became Space.com's Managing Editor in 2009. Before joining Space.com, Tariq was a staff reporter for The Los Angeles Times. He is also an Eagle Scout (yes, he has the Space Exploration merit badge) and went to Space Camp four times as a kid and a fifth time as an adult. He has journalism degrees from the University of Southern California and New York University. To see his latest project, you can follow Tariq on Google+, Twitter and on Facebook.

Tariq Malik, Space.com Managing Editor
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It's All in the Brochure

Credit: United Launch Alliance

This exciting graphic from the official promotion materials depicts the Atlas V booster at left, and the Orbital Test Vehicle (X-37B) at right. Click to enlarge.

Did I Pass the Acid Test?

Credit: U.S. Air Force

The X-37B/OTV spacecraft undergoes final testing at Boeing for a 2010 test flight. Click to enlarge.

We Have a Technical (Adjustment)

Credit: Boeing/R. Davis

This 2003 photo shows a Boeing technician making adjustments to composite panels on the then NASA X-37 Approach and Landing Test Vehicle. Atmospheric flight testing aided in the design of the orbital version of the U.S. Air Force X-37B space plane.

X-37B in Space

Credit: USAF

The U.S. Air Force's X-37B (shown here in an illustration) is an unpiloted military space plane capable of long-duration flights in Earth orbit. The robotic spacecraft has a solar array for power and a payload bay the size of a pickup truck bed.

Do I Have to Draw a Diagram?

Credit: United Launch Alliance

This exploded view details the components of the Atlas V 501 vehcle. The configuration consists of a single Atlas V booster stage and the Centaur upper stage, with the OTV mission encapsulated within the payload fairing.

A Very Good Place to Start

Credit: United Launch Alliance

This image gives an overview of the launch site overview at Cape Canaveral.

A Look Inside

Credit: Karl Tate, SPACE.com

This SPACE.com graphic takes a look inside the X-37B space plane and its Atlas 5 rocket.

On the Runway

Credit: USAF

The X-37B space plane prototype is seen on a runway during flight tests in this undated photo released by the U.S. Air Force.

Drop It Like It's Hot

Credit: Alan Radecki

The first air drop of the X-37 experimental spaceship from the White Knight carrier craft was called off on April 6, 2006 due to high-altitude winds over Edwards Air Force Base in California. An April 7 attempt ended with the robotic space plane rolling o

X-37B Robot Space Plane: On the Launch Pad

Credit: Pat Corkery/United Launch Alliance.

A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket with the Air Force's X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV) - inside the bulbous nose cone - the rolls out to its Space Launch Complex-41 launch pad at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on April 21, 2010.

All Stacked Up

Credit: USAF

The U.S. Air Force’s X-37B space plane prototype, called the Orbital Test Vehicle 1, is primed for its debut launch into space in April 2010.

Secretive X-37B Space Plane Takes Flight

Credit: Pat Corkery/United Launch Alliance.

A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket with the Air Force’s Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV) launches from its Space Launch Complex-41 launch pad at 7:52 p.m. EDT on April 22, 2010.

Air Force's X-37B Space Plane: An Orbital Spy

Credit: USAF

A belly view of the U.S. Air Force's X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle as it sits inside its payload fairing during encapsulation at the Astrotech facility in Titusville, Fla., before its planned April 2010 launch.

X-37B: Let's Work

Credit: NASA/MSFC

This NASA Marshall Space Flight Center image shows on-orbit functions for the reusable X-37B space plane, now under the wing of the U.S. Air Force.

Secret X-37B Space Plane Spotted

Master satellite spotter, Greg Roberts of Cape Town, South Africa, is one of several amateur astronomers and skywatchers who tracked the first X-37B space plane from Earth in 2010.

X-37B Space Plane? There's an App for That

Credit: Spaceweather.com

A screen shot from the Simple Satellite Tracker app for iPhones and Android phones that allows skywatchers to track the secretive U.S. Air Force space plane and the International Space Station.

It's An Orange-y Sky

Credit: NASA/MSFC

Early artist concept of the X-37 advanced technology flight demonstrator re-entering Earth’s atmosphere. The X-37 was billed by NASA as a testbed for dozens of advanced structural, propulsion and operational technologies that could dramatically lower the

Job Well Done

Credit: USAF/Vandenberg Air Force Base

With the first X-37B spacecraft back on Earth, the Air Force is now looking ahead to the next launch. The Air Force has ordered the construction of a second X-37B — the Orbital Test Vehicle 2 — for a mission to launch in the spring of 2011.

Welcome Home

Credit: USAF/Vandenberg Air Force Base

This X-37B space plane's payload bay is seen clearly in this side view, as is the scale of the spacecraft compared to a human. The X-37B began its life in 1999 as a NASA project, then transferred to the Pentagon's DARPA office in 2004. The Air Force took over in 2006. This mission launched on April 22, 2010. The flight's purpose and cost are classified.

Payload Bay Doors

Credit: USAF/Vandenberg Air Force Base

Here, the X-37B space plane is seen in profile as post-landing work continues. The logos of Boeing and the Air Force are visible on the reusable spacecraft's hull. They appear between lines that outline the X-37B's payload bay, which is about the size of a pickup truck bed and can hold experiments, small satellites and a solar array panel that it used to generate power.

X-37B Walkaround

Credit: USAF/Vandenberg Air Force Base

This photo released by the Air Force shows the nose of the mysterious X-37B space plane as recovery crews take measurements and other readings after its Dec. 3 landing at Vandenberg. The X-37B's unique V-shaped "ruddervators" — which serve as its tail stabilizers — are visible as well as a deployed air brake.

Up Close and Personal

Credit: USAF/Vandenberg Air Force Base

A crew of vehicle handlers clad in suits to protect against hazardous materials (like any remaining rocket fuel) approach the X-37B robot space plane after its successful Dec. 3 landing at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

X-37B in Profile

Credit: USAF/Vandenberg Air Force Base

An Air Force photographer snapped this profile view of the X-37B shortly after its landing on Dec. 3, 2010, which marked the end of the secret vehicle's maiden space mission.

Home Again

Credit: USAF/Vandenberg Air Force Base

Despite its robotic nature, the X-37B space plane received a warm welcome from Air Force crews at Vandenberg. Here, the vehicle appears to be undergoing safing procedures after landing on Dec. 3 at 1:16 a.m. PST (0916 GMT). Significant weathering, or discoloration, can be seen on the spacecraft's upper thermal blanket insulation.

Rocket Nose Cone Covers X-37B Robot Space Plane

Credit: USAF

The U.S. Air Force's X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle is shown inside its payload fairing during encapsulation at the Astrotech facility in Titusville, Fla., ahead of a planned April 2010 launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.